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“We were at the tar pits when it happened,” Ivy said. “We were driving back to Roman’s, but we decided to come here first to try and find you guys.” Driving—that meant Darien’s truck had survived.

“Kylar and Asp are with Jewels,” Travis said, indicating to an ambulance parked by a streetlight. He then pointed at a different ambulance a short distance away. “Jack’s there.”

Max blinked.“Wait—Jack’shere?”

“Has anyone had any contact with Darien?” Lace asked.

“I was about to askyouthe same thing,” Max said. “How did Jack get here? What about Tanner? Roman?” He braced himself for bad news, his stomach dropping through his feet. “Where are they?”

They glanced amongst each other. Max’s heart beat faster, pounding in his temples, his back breaking out in a cold, prickly sweat.

With reluctance, Lace said, “We haven’t heard from them.”

“What did Jack say?” Max demanded.

A pause. Then Travis said, “Paramedics found him in Ardesia. In some neighborhoodpastRoman’s house. Like, way the fuckeast.”

Max gaped. How the hell had Jack wound up way over there? He didn’t know Yveswich very well, but…Roman’s house was pretty damn far away from Caliginous on Silverway. He knew that much.

“He’s still out of it,” Lace added. “He isn’t talking much.” She slid her phone out of a slot in her weapons belt and clicked the button on the side. The screen came on, the soft glow illuminating the striking planes of her face. “Phones are still fucked.” She sighed. “I haven’t been able to get a bar since this happened. No messages have come through since the emergency broadcast.”

“Is that…?” Ivy began, trailing off, her eyes fixating on something behind Max.

Max turned.

Maya and Magenta lingered just down the street. While Maya blended in with a more natural look, Magenta’s pink eyes, pink freckles, and pink hair stuck out like a sore thumb.

“I found Maya,” Max confirmed. “Right when the bomb went off—go figure.” He tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace, his teeth caked with blood and grit.

“Does she remember you?” Ivy whispered.

Max sighed through his nose. “To tell you the truth, we haven’t talked much. She’s quieter than I remember.” More like closed off, unavailable—and not seeming to want to change that.

Time—she just needed time or something. Max could handle that.

“Can’t really blame her, though,” Dallas said, shrugging. “Pretty much all her friends died in the tunnels.”

Lace’s eyes flared. “No way. The Elementals?”

“The pink one’s the only survivor,” Max said. “Magenta’s her name—fake name, whatever. She hasn’t said a word to me. Three others were with them—they all died.” He scanned the parked ambulances, countless people bustling around. “Where’d you say Jacky was?”

“Over here,” Ivy said. “Follow me.”

She led the way, weaving around citizens and stepping out of the paths of medical professionals wheeling stretchers. Past the ambulance where Kylar Lavin and Aspen Van Halen waited for Jewels. The purple-haired Reaper was receiving a shot in the arm—likely her near-useless medication for the Tricking.

Jewels gave Travis a little smile as their group passed. She looked like she might throw up, her skin waxy and dotted with sweat, but aside from that and a few bruises, she appeared to be okay.

“How’s he doing?” Ivy asked the venefican paramedic tending to Jack. Jack sat on the back step of the ambulance, doors open.

“He has a concussion,” the warlock said, zipping his emergency kit shut. He wore the Star of Life on his uniform, along with five symbols that represented each of the species he was qualified to provide care for—an eye for hellsehers, a stave for veneficae, a blood droplet for vampires, a sickle moon for werewolves, and an hourglass for humans. Not very nice, the last one. “He’s having trouble remembering what happened between now and about six hours ago. Hellseher healing should speed his recovery time along, but we still recommend plenty of rest, cold compresses, lots of water—the usual.”

“I was told you found him in Ardesia?” Max asked.

A nod. “That’s correct.”

“Was he alone?”

“As far as we could tell.”